Rewrite the Stars
by baseballbabe19
Summary: Sequel to From the Ground Up. AU Omelia fluffy with some Merder. R&R
1. Chapter 1

"Trips! Come on babies, we need to go. Mama is gonna be late to work. I have a very important surgery that Daddy is going to help me with."

Ruby had just turned two when we welcomed our triplets Parker Bailey, Ella Kathleen, and Caleb Alexander into the world. We tried almost daily for a year before conceiving them naturally. We were about to begin fertility treatments when I finally became pregnant. Now here I was 8 months pregnant with our not-planned-yet 5th baby. As soon as we found out I was pregnant again, Owen got a vasectomy. 5 kids in 5 years was plenty and I was more than ready to have my body to myself again.

"Mama, I need my shoes."

Ella toddled over to me and pressed her chubby body up against my legs. She was just so dang pretty. She had deep blue eyes like the ocean and was the first of four kids to have dark hair like me.

"Black sandals today?"

"Please Mama."

Ella was a girly girl inside and out. Ruby was attached to Owen's hip so naturally she loved being able to fish with him and loved football even as a five year old. We had Ruby in softball and swimming while the triplets did tee ball and was starting swim lessons.

I bent over the best I could with my big bump and slipped her sandals on. The boys came running with their flip flops on.

"Mama, we go see Dad?"

Caleb had a minor speech delay as a young toddler so his sentences weren't as well structured as his older siblings but he wasn't far behind anymore.

"Yep, let's go load up in the suburban. We have to hurry."

Once the three little ones were buckled in, we were able to make our way to the hospital that was only 25 minutes from our house.

Owen and I had a system down. If I had the little ones by myself, he would come out to the parking lot and help me get the three of them inside and checked into daycare. If he couldn't, he'd send someone else out. He was extremely overbearing this go around and didn't want me over doing things now that I was 6 weeks away from delivering.

I pulled into my parking spot not far from the ambulance bay and saw Owen jogging over to help.

"Running behind? Deluca is monitoring pre-op for our patient now."

"I'm sorry. I know. Parker spilled his cereal all over his outfit so I had to change him then Caleb had an accident so I had to change him then it took me forever to find the pair of shoes I knew Ella would be okay with wearing."

"Seriously? I don't get them dressed until after breakfast and Ella is 3. Just put whatever on her feet and go to work."

I shot Owen a heated look. Now was not the time.

"We don't always have to do things your way, Owen. Plus I'd rather not have to deal with Ella's tantrums first thing in the morning."

"We can discuss this later. Come on boys, hold Dad's hands."

He walked the boys in while Ella skipped along side me.

"Mama, Daddy is grumpy."

I grinned down at my mini me.

"It's okay. He had a long night at work then was back early. He'll be okay."

Once the kids were checked into daycare, we silently walked to OR 4 to scrub in for our hemispherectomy. Normally he wouldn't be there for my surgery but like I said, I rarely had space to breathe alone now that I was far enough along.

Our last baby would be named Arizona Grace after her would-be god mother and her middle name would match mine. She'd go by Gracie. Once the triplets were out of the NICU and adjusted at home, Owen was offered an opportunity he decided he couldn't pass up. He started lead teaching some trauma seminars 1-2 weekends a month around the country minus summer months.

"You're mad at me because I was 10 minutes late today?"

"I'm mad because you were late and you have an important surgery."

"I was taking care of our kids. They're with me almost always if I'm not at work, you know."

"Not this again. Don't start Amelia."

"I was fine until you wanted to have an attitude!"

By now we made it to the scrub room and the nurses stayed clear since I'm sure they could hear us. It was no secret things were a bit rocky currently.

"You want to hold it against me that I left a few weekends just to teach. I'm earning us money. I'm providing for our family."

"It's not just a few weekends, Owen. 40 weekends out of the past 2 years. You provide financially but the kids miss you. I miss you. When Gracie is born, I'll probably cut my hours even more and that's if I even come back. I'll be living vicariously through you when it comes to surgery. I need your help though. We have a lot of little kids. I never thought we'd survive the triplets as newborns. Now we have a sassy kindergartener, a trio of threenagers, and soon we will have a newborn. I am one person who can only do so much. I want my husband back. I need you to stay here in Georgia. Provide for us here."

Owen's demeanor already started to soften.

"I never went really went anywhere far, Mia. I'm still here."

He stepped closer to me and stroked my left cheek despite having just scrubbed in. A single tear spilled from my eyes. It hurt me to be at odds with the person I love most in the world.

"I want you to sleep in our bed again. I want to feel you being around me."

"Okay. I hated the couch anyways but I didn't want us fighting every night so it was easier to have a little bit of separation."

"Nothing easy has ever been worth it."

We were together in a close embrace minus my baby bump that pressed against Owen's flat stomach.

"You're worth it Amelia. We will get through this rough patch."

"I know."

I wiped my tear and started to scrub in again. Now the silence that fell between us wasn't so hostile. My mind felt a little more clear and I was ready to save my patient's life.

After my 6 hour long surgery, my feet were throbbing and my back ached like when I was carrying the triplets. Once my patient was in recovery and stable, I pawned him back off on Deluca for post op observation. I had to get the triplets from daycare, Ruby from the after school program and get them to tee ball and softball practice. Owen would be leaving work and getting dinner made.

.

"Alright kids! Everyone inside. Cleats in the laundry room and wash your hands. Daddy has dinner ready for us at the table."

They all ran to do as they were told and Owen came to help me carry their bat bags.

"Amelia, no heavy lifting. You know this."

"It's hardly heavy. They're little kids. Whatever you made smells really good."

I flashed him a dimpled smile and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. With whatever rut we were in, it seemed like it had been forever since we actually kissed but I hadn't been home enough to gauge his mood.

"Spaghetti and meatballs. Thank you for doing the ball field stint today. After dinner you can shower in peace. I already have pajamas laid out for the four of them and overnight pull ups for our trips. How were they?"

Ruby ran into the kitchen followed by her brothers and sister. They climbed into their respective chairs and we sat down to eat.

"Daddy! I hit the ball almost to the fence in left field! Today was just practice but everyone still cheered really loud for me!"

I watched as they all took turns filling Owen in on their practices. The boys wanted so badly to be Braves players when they grew up and not on the Mariners like their father would wish for.

"Did any of you ask Mama how her big surgery went today?"

I had all of the kids' attentions while they waited for me to fill them in on my day.

"Well my patient is recovering well and the surgery went perfectly. Daddy saw the whole surgery too."

"Mama, I want to do surgeries with you one day!"

My mini me couldn't contain her excitement.

"Well Ella, if you work really hard and always get good grades in school, you may really be able to."

"On people's brains like you, Mama?"

"If that's the specialty you choose, of course."

"Oh yeah? I want to work trauma just like Daddy. I want to be a soldier too!"

Ruby worshipped the ground Owen walked on. She loved him so much.

"I think that could happen. One daughter turns out like Dad and the other like Mom."

Parker looked at me, his face covered in pasta sauce and pieces of noodles.

"Mama, what about Gracie when she comes out of your tummy?"

"I don't know Parker. We will just have to ask her when she's old enough to talk. Have you four finished? Dad is going to do bedtime while Mama has some alone time."

"Almost! 2 bites!"

The boys raced to finish while the girls were pretty much done.

Once Owen escorted the kids to Ella's bathroom for bath time, I went into our ensuite to shower. The steaming hot water pelting my neck and back felt amazing. It was getting so strenuous to keep growing another human. After my hair and body was cleaned to my liking, I waddled to our closet to get pajamas on. I settled for Owen's heavily worn Harvard t-shirt and some sleep shorts.

My husband walked in almost 30 minutes later and plopped down on the bed in defeat.

"Tired?"

"You have no idea. The boys got the floor more bathed than their body. I think we can graduate Ruby to her own bath or showers now. Her lanky legs are no match for the tub when she's sharing it with three acrobatic toddlers."

"That's fine. She is the eldest anyways. I just hope Ella doesn't mind."

"Ella Kate will be alright, I promise."

We often called her by her first name and abbreviated middle name. Owen and Ruby had started that and it just stuck.

"Meredith want us to come over for dinner soon. She even said to bring Katie."

I groaned internally. The kids turned into Tasmanian devils when they were at their aunt and uncle's. Oddly enough, they behaved just fine when they came over. My patience got thinner with each passing day now that I was considered full term so the invite didn't thrill me too much.

"As long as they promise to not feed Katie any more table scraps, that's fine. Maybe Saturday after the kids' games, we could have a cook out or something."

"Sounds good. You're sure you want me to sleep in bed?"

He turned from his back to face me. I longed for our marriage to get back to a place to where we weren't so hesitant with one another.

"I'm certain. Owen, I love you. We all know I'm most comfortable and sleep the best when you're cuddled up with me."

I saw a brief glimpse of his smile that I couldn't get enough of.

"I love you too. I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"The separation is uncomfortable. I hate that we don't even kiss anymore, let alone have sex. We've always been a very physical couple and now it's like I own a home with a stranger."

"Things have been... different. I'm so used to being on the go. It's an adjustment to be home full time again. It was always me preparing for my next trip or actually being gone."

"If you're that unhappy, please keep traveling on the weekends. I want this awkwardness to stop. I want us back Owen, please."

Like clockwork, tears pooled in my eyes.

"I want to be home. I don't want to miss things with the kids. I want to be here to feel Gracie's kicks and movements. This is our last baby after all. Most importantly, I do truly want to fully put forth the effort to get 'us' back. I'm right here baby, right here."

His broad, manly hands cupped my face. By the time I blinked, I felt Owen's lips press against mine. It took me a second to gather the courage to kiss him back. His tongue lightly traced where my lips met and I let him part them. Our kiss deepened while our need for reunification heightened. We took our sweet time learning each other's bodies again.

.

.

When I woke up the next morning, Owen's bare chest was pressed against my bare back. Our body heat kept me comfortably warm since we had just the sheets and a think blanket covering us. Our duvet must've made its way onto the floor in midst of our passion love making last night. I felt like a giddy school girl. Our dry spell was over. I wasn't entirely oblivious. I knew things weren't back to 100% normal over night but last night was the huge break through I needed to have the courage to just keep on keeping on. I slept the best that I had since Owen moved himself to the couch nearly a month ago. I was certainly pleased we made a step in the right direction.

Owen started to stir and I felt him plant a kiss in the crook of my neck.

"Good morning beautiful. I had an idea. I don't know if you'll go for it but we could certainly try."

"I won't know until you actually tell me."

"What if we got away for a night or two? Just us with no kids. Maggie will take the boys and Arizona wants the girls. We can come back Saturday morning in time for the kids' games."

I rolled over to face him andh blushed as he glanced down at my bare chest.

"No offense but what good is trip just the two of us when we just started sleeping together again last night?"

He gave me an earnest smile.

"I know it's not a cure all. But if we actually have time to focus on just us, we can hash things out without worrying about the kids interrupting us. That also gives us ample opportunity for more make up sex. You'll be out of commission temporarily when Gracie makes her debut."

I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. He could be such a dog.

"If we can actually talk things out while we are there, I'm all for it. Did you have an idea on where you'd like to go?"

"There's ample rental cabins in the Blue Ridge area. We can rent a small one for two nights. Blue Ridge is close enough to where we could be home in time on Saturday. Your brother is the chief so our vacation requests have already been approved."

"Our?"

It was obvious he had planned this.

"I pulled some strings last night while you had the kids at the ball park. It was actually Arizona's idea to keep the kids but Maggie overhead us talking about it in the lounge and volunteered to keep the boys. Your brother was okay with it because we have Riley and Bastille to cover neuro in addition to him and Deluca. April and the residents can cover the pit for me."

"I'm touched you went through that much effort. I think a getaway would be really nice. When do we leave?"

Owen pressed his forehead against mine softly then kissed me deeply and sensually.

"Derek is coming in an hour to do school drop off for Zola, Bailey, Ellis, and Ruby. Meredith will be taking Ella, Caleb, Parker, Jake, and Piper to daycare. We just have to pack their bags and send them with Meredith to have the daycare hold them until their aunts pick them up this evening."

Jacob was a year younger than Ruby and Piper was the same age as our triplets, just 2 months younger. They were due about a week apart but triplets rarely ever go full term and ours were born at 33 weeks gestation, one week after most triplets are born.

"If you want to get breakfast started, I'll get the kids up and send them down there then pack for them."

"Deal."

I got up, threw on my robe, and started our morning routine.

.

.

Once the kids were in their respective locations for the day, we loaded up Owen's truck and dropped Katie off at Dr. Riley's for the weekend. She worked at an animal hospital as a teen before starting medical school so she loved to keep Katie and even had golden retrievers of her own. Then we were off to our cozy cabin retreat. About 20 minutes into our hour and a half car ride, Owen reached over and drop his free hand into my lap palm up, waiting for me to take it. I had butterflies in my stomach as I held onto his hand, studying the notable size difference of our multimillion dollar hands.

"I've even missed this, O."

"Me too. I'm not even sure where or when things started to go wrong but I'm glad we are headed back in the right direction."

I bit the inside of my cheek while I had a great internal debate on whether I should go there or not with him.

"Do you want honesty?"

"Always, Amelia."

"For me, it was when I told you I was pregnant with Gracie and the look you gave me was like a thousand daggers in my heart. You looked angry... maybe even a little resentful as if I purposely got pregnant. The IUD was two and half years into its three year life span. We didn't plan to have Ruby but once we got over our issues, we were both so happy. Then we seemingly struggled to get pregnant for a little over a year so when we found out I was pregnant with not one but three babies, it was like we won the lottery. We decided once the triplets were three that we would have one last baby. We conceived Gracie 6 months shy of their third birthday. It was earlier than we expected but it's not like I planned for that."

"I didn't either. I was honestly just shocked that it had already happened. I didn't resent you for it. I wasn't angry at you either. I was worried. It's hard to explain."

"Try please. I don't ever want to see that look directed at me ever again."

"I watched you struggle to gain proper weight with Ruby's pregnancy. With the triplets you were on bed rest for 8 weeks before you delivered via cesarian and that stupid substitute resident nicked you, didn't catch it until Arizona rushed in, and you almost bled out. It was so terrifying because our babies didn't even weigh as much as Ruby did as a newborn combined and you almost died. You are the most amazing mother and I know how deeply you love our family, but I was terrified you would have another problematic pregnancy or traumatic birth and I don't want to lose you. She is coming regardless and I'm so relieved it's been a completely healthy pregnancy. Sure she wasn't planned yet but I know she will be the perfect finishing touch to our family."

I was taken back by his honesty. How I loved this man and his dedication to our little family.


	2. Chapter 2

The warm sun shined in the bedroom of the cozy log cabin we were staying in. When I looked at the basic alarm clock that was on the nightstand, it read 9:34 a.m. I could honestly say I couldn't remember the last time I slept later than 7:30. Even the extra two hours made a huge difference. Owen wasn't in bed anymore but I smelt bacon cooking so I knew he was up. I took my time waking up and throwing on my pajamas from last night then went out to sit at the island in the kitchen. I watched him cook as he hummed along to whatever song was on the radio. He had on just his basketball shorts and I soaked in the view of his muscular body. Even his back muscles were defined almost to perfection. Owen turned around to grab the plates that were sitting in front of me and jumped so hard.

"Amelia! Dammit woman, you scared the hell out of me."

I just laughed and laughed. He'd purposely make me jump all the time and found great humor in it. Now that roles were switched, it wasn't as amusing to him.

"Oh come on. All I did was sit down. It's not my fault you didn't see the beached whale make her landing here."

"Amelia Grace Shepherd Hunt. You're not a beached whale, quit saying that. You look amazing. I was just focused on cooking us breakfast. I went with eggs, bacon, and fruit salad. Does that sound okay?"

"Seems delicious... What's on the agenda to get done today?"

"You. Also I planned on fishing in the river to catch our dinner."

I thought I'd never have to eat trout again once we left Seattle but I guess I was wrong.

"You just have to be careful about how you cook it. You know I'm not supposed to have a lot of fish because of the mercury."

"I know. I'll eat trout and I'll make a steak for you. We can have baked potatoes and vegetables with it all."

"Oooooh. Gracie would like that very much."

"Gracie or Mama?"

"Both. We should call and check up on the kids. I miss them."

"I miss them too. Let's eat breakfast while it's still hot then we can FaceTime them. I know Arizona is off today so we can talk to Ella... Maybe talk to Ruby later on since she's at school. We may have to tell Maggie to give us a call when she is with the boys and not in surgery."

I smiled thinking of our healthy, happy kids. It can be overwhelming sometimes having kids because you have this intense newfound love for tiny human beings you made with the love of your life. It's so rewarding though. Every hug or sloppy kiss they give, and especially hearing "I love you Mama" made everything worth it.

"Do you think they're having fun? They've never been separated boys and girls overnight before."

"I know they're having fun. They're with some of their favorite ladies ever."

We sat and ate breakfast while making small talk over how much we loved the quaint cabin and how it was nice to sleep through the night without being interrupted by someone having a bad dream, needing water, or needing to be tucked in again.

"Mia, we've not discussed if we were going to let Ruby go to that summer camp with her cousins yet... We have to sign her up soon if she's going."

"I just don't know how I feel about sending our 5 year old to a camp three states away for a month. She's only been away for a few nights at a time."

We were lounging in the hammock on the cabin's back porch with a thin sheet to keep the wind off of us for the most part. Owen rubbed the upper arm of my arm softly. The physical touch itself was so soothing to me.

"She'll still be with family though. If it becomes an issue, I'll fly to Virginia and bring her home. She really wants to go."

"Do you think she's ready for that though?"

"I believe so. She'd be in the equestrian camp with Zola, Ellis, and Sofia. She'll still get to see Bailey and Dre with the other activities like archery, crafts, and swimming."

Dre was Arizona & Carina's son Andrea they adopted from Italy when he was just under two. They decided to name him after Andrew since he meant a lot to the both of them. He was a brilliant little boy and loved his older sister so much.

"If she's wanting to go, and can stay in one of the cabins with the girls, okay. I'll still be on maternity leave with Gracie then so one of us will be around in case we do have to get her early."

"It'll be great. She will love it. Plus the older girls have their phones so we can FaceTime her at night."

"It will be a good experience for her. Can we go inside? Look at the clouds... It's about to start pouring."

"So much for fishing... I guess we will order something later to be delivered. Yeah come on."

He got off first to help me off of the hammock.

Once we were inside, we got situated on the oversized chair together to watch TV. There was an entire couch and loveseat set yet we chose to pretty much be on top of one another in the chair. It had been way too long since we even showed this level of affection and I'd soak up all that I could. We switched to having a large thick blanket on our laps, Owen's large body cuddled up to mine for once and he rested his head on my chest. That allowed me to be able to stroke and run my fingers through his ginger curls. Soon his breath evened out so I knew he had fallen asleep. I kissed the top of his head then cozied up to him even more to nap as well.

I woke up with my fingers resting in his hair and my free hand on top of his that was on my thigh. His cheeks were pink from being a bit too warm while sleeping. Especially after moving to Georgia, we slept with very little clothes on so a nap on top of one another, fully clothed, and with an extremely warm blanket wasn't something we were used to anymore. I kissed his head again and he started to stir.

"Mm, I see why all our kids still to this day will fall asleep once their heads rest on their Mama's chest."

I couldn't help but smile. It was true. Moms have magical chests and their husbands aren't immune to it clearly.

"Did you sleep well? We were out for nearly three hours."

"I can't remember ever sleeping so much. I feel amazing and I'm glad I get to be here with you."

"Me too. For sure. It'll be bittersweet when we go back to reality tomorrow."

"I miss the kiddos. Ruby's incessant rambling about kindergarten life... She gets the rambling from you by the way."

"Jerk."

We shared a smile and he continued on.

"Parker trying to always talk about baseball and asking to go play it outside. Caleb begging us for another dog and asking to take Katie for walks. And Ella giving me a hard time about doing things the "right way like Mama does" when it comes to anything pretty much ever. You can't even tell Ella is half me. Still to this day, I swear you found a way to just clone yourself. I love our mini hurricane though."

"She loves you so much even if she is a Mama's girl. If she had to choose anyone to flock to, it would probably be Deluca. She's so infatuated by him."

"That's true. She's only three years old but I swear she tries to flirt with him."

"It's a cute innocent crush. Plus he thinks she hung the moon."

"The boys think I hung the moon, even if I like the Mariners and they love the Braves."

"They're Georgia boys, what do you expect?"

Once we fully woke up, we enjoyed each other in the shower, again in the bedroom, and a third time on the pool table in the basement after I beat him 2-1 in three games of pool.

"We should do this more often Owen... Every other month or so, get away for a night or two. It's nice to have one on one time with you since it's so crazy and busy back at home."

"I'm sure we'd bring Gracie with us at least the first few times but yes, I think that's something we could work on. We need to prioritize our marriage along with our kids."

"I agree. As corny as it sounds, there isn't a single person I love in the world more than you. Of course I love our babies unconditionally but the love I have for you... That is once in a lifetime. Anyone I had been with before you doesn't count because you've been the most important person I've known."

"Oh that was so touching until you mentioned men you've been with. I hate the idea of any other man ever being with you... Anyone else ever seeing you naked..."

"Oh, hello Mr. Possessive Hunt. You left out anyone else ever impregnating me."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Always one to tease, Mia. You got baby Chris out of it. You wouldn't be the wife and mother you are today had you not have had him. I just like to focus on the good of you being with Ryan. From the one picture Addison has shown me, your baby was so beautiful and he saved so many lives."

Of course he had to go and sweep me off my hormonal, pregnant feet. I have no doubt Owen would've loved my baby. I mentioned to him years ago when we were talking about my unicorn baby that I would have probably named him after my father had he survived, hence calling him baby Chris. My father's name was Christopher.

"Fact of the matter is that any guy I've been with before you hasn't mattered because you're my soulmate. I never really believed in those really until we fixed our marriage the first time before Ruby was born."

"The first time... Yeah..."

Owen's eyes were sullen and pained me right to my core.

"We are going to be okay, honey I promise you. We love each other so much and we have the most beautiful family because our love is so strong. We are Amelia and Owen. We make it through anything and everything."

"We do, you're right."


	3. Chapter 3

Owen and I had just gotten home from work and was trying to get dinner made when we heard a large crash followed by the kids screaming. They were in the basement downstairs playing in their playroom. I put down the knife from the vegetables I was chopping and hurried down the stair behind Owen who pretty much flew down them.

"Daddy, it was an accident!"

Ruby was hysterical while the boys hid in their play tent. The large mirror that was in the main area had fallen on top of Ella. There was shattered glass everywhere. Owen quickly pulled it off of her and picked her up, immediately leading her upstairs and to the truck. They sped off and I ushered Ruby, Caleb, and Parker into the suburban to try to catch up with them. Ella was bleeding badly and I swear I was seeing red.

"Mama, I'm so very sorry... I didn't mean to. I was trying to see my crown but I wasn't tall enough so I tried to pull myself up and it started to fall. I jumped out of the way but Ella Kate was right there and didn't move in time. Please don't be mad."

I knew she felt terrible about it but until we knew the extent of Ella's injuries, I didn't want to talk because I was so worried and mad.

"Silence please, Ruby."

"But Mama-"

"I said silence!"

The rest of the car ride to our hospital was silent. All three sets of eyes peered at me from the rear view mirror but I couldn't bring myself to explain how serious this was and that that was why I was so upset.

We parked and got inside the E.R. Derek met me at the door to get Ruby and the boys to the daycare. Ella was in Trauma 3. The hospital bed swallowed her tiny size up and she was just pitiful. She cried out for me as soon as she saw me.

"Mama! I need you."

I sat on the edge of the bed while one of the trauma attending, Dr. Edward Knox, assessed her injuries.

"I'd like to get a head and chest CT and some chest X-rays since that seems where she got most of the injuries. Her eyebrow, cheek, and arm definitely need some stitches. I'd like to sedate her, with your permission of course. It'll help get better images and the stitching process won't be so traumatic."

"Yes of course. Do what you have to."

We stayed with our poor little girl until she was fully under then was escorted to the waiting room, much to our chagrin, thanks to protocol.

"Amelia... How could this have happened? I'm so mad at Ruby. She's just a kid, and I know accidents happen. Ella is badly injured though."

"I'm struggling to find the words of how I'm feeling. All I know is that Ella was bleeding a lot and I know Ruby didn't mean to. One of us needs to talk to her once we found out the extent of Ella's injuries. She's only 5, we can't be that hard on her."

Just as we were really starting to talk after nearly an hour of silence, one of the residents, Dr. Lola Thomas, came with an update.

"Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Hunt... Ella has a grade 2 brain bleed. She has 6 stitches in her left eyebrow, four stitches on her cheek, and 11 along her arm. The bleed doesn't require surgery but she's being closely monitored in the PICU and Dr. Karev agreed with Knox that she should stay sedated for at least 24 hours for monitoring. Her levels are stable and it's promising she will make a full recovery. Karev will be taking over her case now as he's the attending on call for the next 48 hours. He will be around frequently to check on her along with the nurses. The other Dr. Shepherd is on his way to see her since he was already on that floor trying to get updates from us. He is persistent but we didn't give in."

"Thank you."

"Of course. She's in room 6128 whenever you're ready to see her."

Owen held my hand and we walked together in silence.

A sob escaped my lips as soon as I saw my little girl intubated and all cut up and bruised in the hospital bed. She looked so angelic and my heart broke for her. I wished so badly I could trade places with her.

Owen wiped tears from his eyes and handed me a tissue to do the same.

"Derek, could you get Ruby from the daycare and bring her here?"

"You sure you want her to see her little sister like this?"

"Yes. We have to talk to her."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

We both sat at her bedside until we heard little foot steps enter the room.

"Mama?"

I sat up, wiped my tears again, and held my arms out.

"Come here. It's okay. We aren't mad anymore."

She came over and crawled onto my lap the best she could with my baby bump interfering.

"Mama, is Ella gonna go to heaven?"

Instantly tears were back and filling my eyes.

"No baby. She's gonna be okay. Her brain has a little bleed from hitting it on the hardwood floor so hard. The rest of her booboos are on the outside and will heal quickly. She has that tube to help her breathe while she's sedated."

"She's gonna be really mad, Mama. We were just playing dress up. I wanted to see how I looked. I feel really bad."

"I know you do. I do too. I'm sorry for snapping at you in the car but what happened was very serious and we were very worried. You're still our Ruby Roo. I think you and your brothers are going to stay with Uncle Derek, Aunt Meredith, and your cousins for the night and maybe tomorrow night so that Daddy and I can stay with Ella."

"Okay Mama. I promise I will be careful with them."

"I know you will baby. You know we love you very much."

"To the moon and stars. I love you and Daddy too."

"Give us hugs. It's getting late and you have school in the morning."

She hugged me and I kissed her forehead, then she hugged and kissed Owen then followed Derek out.

"Owen, you were very quiet."

"I didn't want to say too much until I know I have my emotions in check."

"You said it yourself. It was an accident and she's only five."

"Yet here we are with one of our three year olds intubated."

"Ruby thinks you hung the moon. She'd be so devastated if she knew you were so upset with her."

"Amelia, dammit. Give me time to process. I'm not trying to talk this to death."

I heard him loud and clear and shut my mouth. I got Karev to bring in a cot for me to lay on while Owen laid in the recliner in the corner. I laid close enough to the hospital bed to be able to hold one of her hands. It would a long night so we needed to sleep while we could.

.

.

I got up around 5:30 and decided to go grab breakfast. We didn't eat dinner last night so I was starving. I grabbed two muffins, two bananas, and two breakfast sandwiches to also feed Owen something. When I got back to Ella's room, he was awake just watching her breathe.

"She did really well throughout the night. I'll have to go home at some point to clean up the glass and blood in the basement and I'm just going to throw away the blood covered car seat from my truck. I'll shower and bring us both a change or two of clothes. I'm sorry about last night when I snapped at you. I was scared and frustrated."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Eat this food please. We still need to be taking care of ourselves. When you get back from running home, I'll probably go see the boys in daycare. We didn't talk to them before they left with Derek and I want to tell them myself that Ella is going to be alright."

He took his food and we ate quietly, making small talk over how precious Ella was. Right as I stood up to throw my trash away, there was a large fish of fluid that fell from me.

"Holy shit. Owen, my water just broke."

"Right now?"

"Yes. Gracie's coming. Get Deluca to sit with his girl while we have this baby."


	4. Chapter 4

Searing pain ran rampant through my body. Gracie felt way bigger than Ruby coming out. I just wanted it to be over. With the triplets, I had a c-section and they were born a minute apart consecutively: Parker 10:54 AM, Ella 10:55 AM, and Caleb 10:56 AM. I was given a local anesthetic just for the procedure and it was as routine as could be. Now I was wishing I could get one of those again. I have no idea how I did it for baby Christopher and again for Ruby. This was hell.

"Owen... Make it stop. It hurts so bad."

I wanted to throw up; I was hurting that bad.

"She's almost here, babe. You got this. I see her hair. We've got another little girl with dark hair just like you."

Another contraction came and I pushed as hard as I could despite the splitting pain I was experiencing.

"I can't do it Owen. This hurts so much more than the others."

"We are so close to meeting our little baby. One more push Mama and she will be here."

I was breathing heavily and once the last contraction hit, I mustered all of the strength I had left and pushed as hard as I could again. Lady Deluca pulled Gracie out by her shoulders, immediately placing her on my chest. Gracie's lungs proved their strength as she screamed out, not happy with her bright entrance to the world. Owen cut the umbilical cord like he did with our other four. One of the nurses whisked Gracie away to get her cleaned up and measured properly. Just a couple minutes later, Gracie was brought back to me all cozy and swaddled.

"Congratulations Mom and Dad. She's perfect. 9 pounds, 4 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. Healthy as can be. Born at 8:49 AM."

The nurse left us to update Gracie's chart so it was just the three of us mostly.

"Look at those dimples, Daddy. She's precious."

"Just like Mama. Congratulations, you did it again. You cloned yourself for a second time."

"Oh hush. What do you think Ruby and Parker are? Your kids for sure. Caleb is the only hybrid of us."

Our harmless banter was interrupted by our littlest baby who was wanting the attention back on her and definitely wanting to eat.

"Hangry little babe, again something she gets from her mama."

"After a year and a half of rest for the first time since Ruby, I am back to being a milk factory."

Gracie let out a shrill scream of disapproval since she still didn't have a nipple of some sort in her mouth.

"Okay okay little bug, it's coming. Mama is sorry."

Owen helped me unsnap the top of my hospital gown and I adjusted myself to let Gracie eat. It took a few tries but she finally latched on and started to hungrily eat, smacking her lips each time she sucked.

"Now that is something she got from you, O. She's a loud, messy eater. Look at that milk beard she has right now."

"I sleep walk to the kitchen just a few times and you'll never let me live it down."

I couldn't help but laugh at the memories.

"You were ravenous. Your bare hands were in that huge pot of leftover spaghetti and you had noodles hanging from your mouth, growling like a bear."

"Oh come on, can't a guy eat? I was probably starving. If that's the night I'm thinking of, we went at it for nearly four hours. Of course I'll be ravenous after that."

I lightly covered little Gracie's ears who angrily wiggled around to adjust herself to eat more.

"Come on now. Little ears."

"Brand new ears who won't ever have any recollection of our conversation."

.

.

Arizona came to meet her goddaughter when she finished her shift and she was in love. She actually stayed with her while Owen took me in a wheelchair to check on Ella. She had a slight increase in intracranial pressure so Karev still wanted to keep her sedated for another day. Derek swore she didn't need surgery and reassured me that he checked over her scans numerous times.

"She's missing out on meeting her baby sister... Shit... I can't believe she's still sedated. My heart hurts so badly for her. Do you think the boys and Ruby should still meet Gracie or should we wait for Ella to be awake too?"

"I'd like them to meet her all together. I don't want Ella feeling left out or anything."

I smiled at my husband who had pushed her dark hair out of her face and cupped her cheek as if he was willing her to wake up.

"So your brother said he took care of the blood and glass when he went to get the kids more clothes and take Katie back to his house. That's one last thing we'll have to worry about. If you're okay being with being with Gracie alone for a few hours, I still need to go get us clothes and now the baby bag for her. Not to mention, the infant car seat needs to be put in."

"That's fine. I can manage, I promise."

.

.

Owen had been gone for roughly two hours and I had soaked up every bit of bonding time with my second mini me. She was so cuddly and her skin was unbelievably smooth. Gracie was the perfect final touch to our family.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when my phone started to ring on the side table next to the hospital bed I was lounging in with Gracie. A picture of Owen kissing my cheek lit up on my screen which made me cheesy smile to myself.

"Hi baby."

"Hey Mama. How are our little princesses?"

"Good. Gracie is sleeping on me although I'm sure she will be waking up to eat soon. Meredith is visiting Ella with Zola and Bailey. Bailey is reading the rest of his assigned book to Ella. Andrew said he is on call and will be staying in the room with Ella tonight so you can help me with Gracie throughout the night."

"That's nice of him. I showered and packed us both some clothes and grabbed Gracie's stuff we needed. I was thinking of stopping by Publix to get some food for us. Anything in particular you're craving?"

Without any hesitation, I could answer him.

"Chicken wings from the deli and lots of bleu cheese to go with them. Some of their lemonade too please. Also watermelon and grapes sounds really good. Double stuffed Oreos and chewy chips ahoy cookies would make me really happy too."

"You got it. I should be back to the hospital within 30-45 minutes depending on traffic."

"Sounds good. See you then."

"I love you Mia."

"I know you do. I love you too."

Shortly after hanging up, Gracie woke up ready to eat again. She was our heaviest newborn and seemed to be the hungriest.

She was looking up at me once she had latched. She had the sweetest blue eyes ever.

"You're so pretty my Gracie girl. You have no idea what family you were just born into. You've got two sisters and two brothers who are dying to meet you. You also have a Mama and Daddy who would move mountains just to make you smile. We love you so very much. You've also got five cousins that live down the road from us and many more in New York but you probably won't see them much. You'll never have to want for anything since you're the youngest baby in the entire family. You'll always be safe and loved. Your bedroom at home is unicorn themed. That what your sisters picked out for you and I think it's fitting because you're quite magical. You know at one point I yelled at Daddy that I didn't want any kids. You have a brother in heaven which made this difficult and painful for Mama. However now I can't imagine my life without any of you. Mama and Daddy love each other very much and it shows in each and every one of our babies."

I was interrupted by a nurse coming to check on Gracie. She didn't take too lightly to being pulled away from me and the milk. Her cries were ear piercing and made my heart hurt. Why can't nurses just leave us alone? I know what I'm doing. Soon Gracie was brought back to me and immediately snuggled up to my chest and latched on to my other nipple. I doubted she was actually still hungry but she wanted to be soothed and that's what I was here for.

Eventually Owen got back to the room with a duffle bag, diaper bag, infant car seat, and two reusable grocery bags filled with all kinds of good stuff.

"Okay, hand her over. I want to see my sweet girl."

I slightly smirked to myself.

"Babe, I'm right here."

"Ha. Ha. I mean Gracie. You eat, I'll hold her."

Those chicken wings...

"Deal. Take her and do skin to skin. She likes that."

I buttoned up a flannel of Owen's he brought for me and dug in to all the food he brought. I looked over at Owen lounging on the cot in our room with Gracie cuddled up on his bare chest. He pulled the unbuttoned parts of his white button up somewhat more together and draped a baby blanket across them to keep her warm.

"Amelia, thank you."

"For what? I'm eating chicken wings."

He gave me a mild disapproving look.

"I'm trying to be serious."

"Clearly."

"Seriously Amelia?"

"Oh my god, I'm just giving you a hard time. Okay, what is it?"

"I was admiring Gracie and she is perfect. Not that I think the world needs a third Amelia Grace Shepherd Hunt because one is plenty, but our kids are so damn amazing. To think there was a time we were going to be okay without kids. Here we are with five miracles who I can't imagine life without. It all comes back to you. You gave us a chance. You made five perfect human beings with me, all a testimony of how deeply we love each other. I know it hasn't always been easy. If I didn't know any better I'd even say there was a time or two you wanted out. You stayed however and I'm so grateful. You've given me a life that I would never want with anyone else. You are my entire life, woman. I'm not very good with words so I know I'll never be able to fully express how much I love you... My heart beats for you Amelia. I love you more than anything or anyone in this world. That's why I was thanking you. You've given me everything life has to offer since we've been together. Once Ella is back to normal and Gracie is a little older, I want to marry you again. I want to have a vow renewal."

My hormones were still in full effect and my heart was in a gooey puddle from his sweet words. Only Owen would profess his love for me as I'm stuffing my face with all sorts of junk food.

"I love you too Owen. It's kind of scary how much I love you because I've never felt something so intensely before. This life we've built together is worth every trial and tribulation we've faced. I love the idea of us renewing our vows. We came a very long way from where we were the first few months of our marriage. I was never the girl obsessed with fairytales but our tale is my favorite. I'm overjoyed you've proposed since I did it the first time. So yes, Owen Caleb Hunt, I'll marry you."

He stood and brought Gracie over with him and sat beside me. I wiped my mouth and turned to kiss him which he happily reciprocated. This life is all we needed.


End file.
